About the Tea Cosy Project

Elder Abuse is a growing problem in many countries. We cannot allow this to happen. Older people deserve to be valued and respected. An important step towards achieving this is to celebrate ageing - because ageism makes older people vulnerable to elder abuse. The Tea Cosy Project engages individuals, families, communities, organisations and governments in addressing ageism through arts based approaches. The aim of the Project is to challenge ageism, build respect for older people and prevent Elder Abuse. The tea cosy is a symbol for the project and a powerful metaphor for challenging ageism and preventing Elder Abuse. ​

A tea cosy is something that adds warmth and insulates. Tea cosies are associated with older people. Just as the tea cosy adds warmth, we hope this project will envelop older people with a sense of being loved and respected. The Tea Cosy is a metaphor for sending messages of warmth and love to older people and a metaphor for embracing our own ageing. The project includes the making of Tea Cosies (like this beautiful one by Loani Prior) but is also much broader. 

The project currently consists of five interlinked projects. These projects will evolve over time and funding will be sought for a broader range of arts projects. The current projects include:

1. Love Cosies: art about older people we love
2. Insulator Cosies: art protecting against internalised ageism
3. Age-Friendly World: what 'age friendly' means to older peopel
4. Place365: photographs of older people - and stories about their sense of place
5. ​Spray Can: challenging ageist ads, comments, media